India, UAE agree to expand air traffic

India and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to expand air traffic between the two countries, allocating 18 additional flights from Abu Dhabi.

The director-general of UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority Mohammad Ganem Al Gaith signed an MoU to this effect on March 15 in New Delhi with RK Singh, joint secretary in India's Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are being added as additional points of call for designated airlines of the UAE.

Both parties agreed to add 11 flights per week on the Abu Dhabi-India-Abu Dhabi route with immediate effect, and an additional seven flights per week from the winter of 2007-08 to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.

In addition, designated airlines of both countries are permitted to operate any number of all-cargo services between any point in India and the UAE with any type of aircraft, with full third, fourth and fifth freedom traffic rights to any intermediate points or beyond.